Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
Acknowledgment is made of applicant’s claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d). The certified copy has been filed in parent Taiwanese Patent Application No. 112118706, filed on May 19, 2023.
Receipt is acknowledged of certified copies of papers required by 37 CFR 1.55.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on August 6, 2024 are in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Specification
The specification has not been checked to the extent necessary to determine the presence of all possible minor errors. Applicant’s cooperation is requested in correcting any errors of which applicant may become aware in the specification.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
Claim(s) 1, 2, and 4-8 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LaChapelle et al. (US 2023/0213628 A1) in view of Raring et al. (USPN 11,316,321).
Regarding claim 1, LaChapelle et al. teaches a solid-state (e.g., [0058 “… A light source 110 may include … solid-state laser”) lidar device (e.g., Abstract “… a lidar system includes a light source configured to emit pulses of light and a scanner configured to scan the emitted pulses of light across a field of regard of the lidar system”), comprising: an emitting module (Figures 1, 3, 9, 16, 17, 19, 30, 46-50), comprising a laser driver (e.g., 150) and a light emitting source (e.g., 110, 450, 440), the laser driver being configured to drive the light emitting source to emit a light signal (e.g., [0053 “… light source 110 may be pulsed laser configured to produce or emit pulses of light with a pulse duration or pulse width… As another example, light source 110 may be pulsed laser that produces pulses of light at a pulse repetition frequency of approximately 100 kHz to 10 MHz”]), module (e.g., Figures 11, 12, 13, 19, 30, 31; 140), being configured to receive the light signal being reflected and generate an output signal based on the light signal (e.g., [0052 “… A receiver 140 may receive or detect photons from input beam 135 and produce one or more representative electrical signal”]), and the receiving module comprising an avalanche photodiode (e.g., [0069]; claim 21); wherein the avalanche photodiode comprises a lead sulfide quantum dot colloid layer (e.g., [0130 “… Each detector element 340 may be a PN photodiode, a PIN photodiode, an APD, a SPAD, a quantum dot (QD) photodetector, or any other suitable detector. Each detector element 340 of a detector array 342 may have an active region or an avalanche-multiplication region… As another example, the detector array 432 may include detector elements 340 with lead sulfide quantum dots configured to detect light in the 1400-1600-nm wavelength range”]) and the lead sulfide quantum dot colloid layer is arranged on a reflection path of the light signal received by the avalanche photodiode (e.g., Figures 11, 12, 13, 19, 30, 31).
LaChapelle et al. fails to explicitly teaches the laser driver is a high electron mobility transistor. However, LaChapelle et al. suggests various other alternative, yet, known laser diodes in paragraph [0055 “… A light source 110 may include a laser diode, such as for example, a Fabry-Perot laser diode, a quantum well laser, a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) laser, a distributed feedback (DFB) laser, a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL), a quantum dot laser diode, a grating-coupled surface-emitting laser (GCSEL), a slab-coupled optical waveguide laser (SCOWL), a single-transverse-mode laser diode, a multi-mode broad area laser diode, a laser-diode bar, a laser-diode stack, or a tapered-stripe laser diode. As an example, light source 110 may include an aluminum-gallium-arsenide (AlGaAs) laser diode, an indium-gallium-arsenide (InGaAs) laser diode, an indium-gallium-arsenide-phosphide (InGaAsP) laser diode, or a laser diode that includes any suitable combination of aluminum (Al), indium (In), gallium (Ga), arsenic (As), phosphorous (P), or any other suitable material. A light source 110 may include a pulsed or CW laser diode with a peak emission wavelength between 1200 nm and 1600 nm. As an example, light source 110 may include a current-modulated InGaAsP DFB laser diode that produces optical pulses at a wavelength of approximately 1550 nm. As another example, light source 110 may include a laser diode that emits light at a wavelength between 1500 nm and 1510 nm”]. Also, see paragraph [0056 “CW, EDFA, SOA”], [0057 “direct-emitter laser diode”], and [0058 “DPSS”].
Raring et al. teaches in paragraph (53 “… In one example of this configuration a transistor is used to sense the output of the photodetector and allow sufficient current to flow the laser diode for operation of the laser light source. A transistor is composed of semiconductor material with at least three terminals for connection to an external circuit. In a transistor a first voltage or current applied to one pair of the transistor's terminals changes a second current or voltage through another pair of terminals… Moreover, any of an assortment type of transistor can be used such as field effect transistor (FET), junction field effect transistor (JFET), bi-polar junction transistor (BJT), metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET), metal-semiconductor field effect transistor (MESFET), insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT), and “other types” including hetereojunction bipolar transistor (HBT). Additionally, other types of diodes can be included such as schottky diode and pn junction diodes”).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to adapt alternative laser driver of Raring et al. to allow for sufficient current flow the laser diode for operation of the laser light source and further modify laser driver and its variety of light sources of LaChapelle et al. as it provide various of different use of laser diodes in LiDAR device because as claim(s) would result from the application of the prior knowledge or art-recognized equivalents to drive the laser diode(s) in a predictable manner. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007).
Note: Claims in a pending application should be given their broadest reasonable interpretation. In re Pearson, 181 USPQ 641 (CCPA 1974).
Regarding claim 2, LaChapelle et al. further teaches the solid-state lidar device of claim 1, wherein the laser driver provides a switching frequency ranging between 100 kHz and 10 MHz (e.g., [0053 “… light source 110 may be pulsed laser configured to produce or emit pulses of light with a pulse duration or pulse width… As another example, light source 110 may be pulsed laser that produces pulses of light at a pulse repetition frequency of approximately 100 kHz to 10 MHz”]).
LaChapelle et al. fails to explicitly teach the lower frequency range of 10 kHz.
However, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to specify any suitable and workable frequency range of the LiDAR device, since it has been held that where the general conditions of a claim are disclosed in the prior art, discovering the optimum or workable ranges involves only routine skill in the art. In re Aller, 105 USPQ 233.
Regarding claim 4, LaChapelle et al. further teaches the solid-state lidar device of claim 1, wherein the emitted light source provides an operating wavelength range between 1400 nm and 1600 nm (e.g., [0130 “… As another example, the detector array 432 may include detector elements 340 with lead sulfide quantum dots configured to detect light in the 1400-1600-nm wavelength range”]).
Regarding claim 5, LaChapelle et al. further teaches the solid-state lidar device of claim 1, wherein the emitting module further comprises a first optical lens, and the first optical lens is arranged on an emission path of the light signal emitted by the light emitting source (e.g., [0060 “… lidar system 100 may include one or more lenses, mirrors, filters”]; [0061]; [0092]; Figure 3; 330).
Regarding claim 6, LaChapelle et al. further teaches the solid-state lidar device of claim 1, wherein the receiving module further comprises a receiving optical lens (e.g., 330; [0092]; [0126]; [0145]; [0155]; [0159], and the receiving optical lens is arranged on the reflection path of the light signal received by the avalanche photodiode (e.g., Figures 3, 9, 16, 18, 19).
Regarding claim 7, LaChapelle et al. further teaches the solid-state lidar device of claim 6, wherein the receiving module further comprises an optical filter (e.g., 346v; 346; Figures 12, 13; [0136], [0137], [0138], [0139], [0229], [0231]), arranged on the reflection path of the light signal received by the avalanche photodiode and located between the avalanche photodiode and the receiving optical lens.
Regarding claim 8, LaChapelle et al. further teaches the solid-state lidar device of claim 1, further comprising a substrate (e.g., 349), on which the emitting module and the receiving module are disposed (e.g., [0202 “… A light source 110 may include a seed laser diode 450 and a SOA 460a that are integrated together and disposed on or in a single chip or substrate”]).
It would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to mount both the emitting module and the receiving module onto a single substrate, since it has been held that forming in one piece an article which has formerly been formed in two pieces and put together involves only routine skill in the art. In re Larson, 144 USPQ 347, 349 (CCPA 1965). See MPEP 2144.04.
Claim(s) 3 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over LaChapelle et al. (US 2023/0213628 A1) and Raring et al. (USPN 11,316,321) and further in view of Mazed (USPN 11,885,887 B1).
Regarding claim 3, both LaChapelle et al. and Raring et al. fails to teach the solid-state lidar device of claim 2, wherein the high electron mobility transistor is gallium nitride-based.
Mazed teaches in paragraph (392) that “… Furthermore, the gallium nitride (doped with a dopant/impurity or even undoped)-aluminum nitride (AlN) heterostructure material based circuit (e.g., power amplifier (PA)) and/or silicon material based complementary metal oxide semiconductor and/or GaAs/InP material high-electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) can be integrated on a common substrate (e.g., a silicon/silicon on insulator/silicon on diamond/silicon carbide/diamond substrate) via multiple wafer bonding process to realize a Multi-Material Super System on Chip (MM SSoC), utilizing multiple silicon handle (carrier) wafers.”
Therefore, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art at the time of the invention to utilize specific material based, i.e., gallium nitride, HEMT to alternative laser driver of Raring et al. and Mazed to allow for sufficient current flow the laser diode for operation of the laser light source and further modify laser driver of LaChapelle et al. as it provide various of different use of laser diodes in LiDAR device because as claim(s) would result from the application of the prior knowledge or art-recognized equivalents to drive the laser diode(s) in a predictable manner. See KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., 82 USPQ2d 1385 (2007). Also, it would have been obvious to one having ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would have been motivated to look to analogous art teaching(s) of alternative suitable or useful material such as gallium nitride, as the selection of a known material based on its suitability for intended purpose deemed obvious. See MPEP 2144.07. In re Leshin, 125 USPQ 416.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Kennedy et al. (US 2013/0278716 A1) – Methods and apparatus for 3D UV imaging
Kneissel et al. (US 2006/0073621 A1) – Group III-nitride based HEMT device with insulating ganalign buffer layer
Kadambi et al. (US 2017/0234985 A1) – Methods and apparatus for time-of-flight imaging
Liu et al. (US 2024/0385293 A1) – Solid-state LiDAR device
Lenius et al. (USPN 9,368,936) – Laser diode firing system
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